Eric Young Jr. thought he misunderstood. He’s not really a morning person, so when Colorado Springs Sky Sox manager Stu Cole told him he had been called up, it didn’t hit him.

“I did a double take. I couldn’t believe it. I was so happy,” Young said. “I scrummed together some clothes and got here as fast as I could.”

Young’s promotion to the Rockies came at the expense of good friend Dexter Fowler. Fowler was placed on the 15- day disabled list because of a bone bruise in his right knee after fouling a ball off his leg Monday. With Fowler limping and Carlos Gonzalez available only for emergency duty, the Rockies promoted Young and outfielder Matt Murton, clearing the second roster spot by optioning out pitcher Adam Eaton.

Young batted leadoff and started in center field, a position he excelled at in the Arizona Fall League and during the last three weeks for Triple-A Colorado Springs.

His first at-bat came at 6:54 p.m. His first hit came in the fifth inning, a hard single to left field. That brought father Eric Young, a former all-star second baseman for the Rockies, to his feet in the Coors Field press box.

“When he called me, I said go handle your business and I will be there,” said Young, who hurriedly booked a flight from Houston. “I told him to play hard and have fun. It will be a day he never forgets.” Gonzalez update.

Gonzalez hit off a tee and did soft-toss drills without any problems on his cut left hand. He wasn’t wearing a bandage. The reason he required a stitch is that he grabbed the point of the knife, not the blade, so it poked deeply into the skin.

“It’s getting better every day. I hope to play (today) or Thursday,” Gonzalez said.

Footnotes.

Fowler, who was on crutches, believes he will be able to return in no later than three weeks. “It’s disappointing. But that’s baseball. It depends on how fast I heal,” he said. He offered advice to Young on how to play the huge outfield in Denver. On cue, Young made a terrific over- the-shoulder catch in the fifth inning to retire the Dodgers’ Rafael Furcal. . . . Aaron Cook was relieved that his shoulder MRI showed no structural damage, just inflammation. He will begin a throwing program Tuesday. “I have no doubt that I will be back this season,” he said. . . . If the Rockies’ bullpen runs short today, Juan Rincon will be the first option in Triple-A. . . . Closer Huston Street was unavailable after pitching three consecutive days.

WASHINGTON — Thirty games into the 82-game NHL season, and nearly six weeks after the Matt Duchene trade, Avalanche general manager Joe Sakic discussed the state of his team before Tuesday’s 5-2 loss at the Washington Capitals.

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — The Rockies continued to bolster their bullpen Wednesday by agreeing to a contract to bring left-handed reliever Jake McGee back to Colorado. A major-league source confirmed the news, but the Rockies have not made the signing official.